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Lipids and Immune Function¹

Boston University School of Medicine, Mallory Institute of Pathology, Boston, Massachusetts 02118

There is in vitro and in vivo evidence to suggest that dietary lipids play a role in modulating immune function. A review of the current literature on the interrelationships among dietary lipids, blood cholesterol levels, immunosuppression, and tumorigenesis makes for a very strong argument that (a) immunosuppression may be causally related to lymphoproliferative disorders, as well as to tumorigenesis and (b) diets high in polyunsaturated fat, relative to diets high in saturated fat, are more immunosuppressive and are better promotors of tumorigenesis. The effects of dietary fat on immune function seem to be mediated through its component parts, the unsaturated fatty acids, specifically linoleic, linolenic, and arachidonic. It is not clear how these components affect immune function. Several studies suggest that one effect is mediated by altering the lipid component of the cell membrane and thus its fluidity; the more fluid the membrane, the less responsive it is. Thus, fluidity of both immune cells and those to be destroyed or protected may be affected. The effects of saturated as well as unsaturated fatty acids may be mediated by modulating serum lipoprotein levels, prostaglandin metabolism, and cholesterol concentrations and metabolism.

¹ Presented at the Workshop on Fat and Cancer, December 10 to 12, 1979, Bethesda, Md. Supported in part by grants-in-aid from the National Large Bowel Cancer Project; Grant CA16750 of the National Cancer Institute, NIH; The American Egg Board, Park Ridge, Ill.; and The General Foods Fund, Inc., White Plains, N. Y.

² To whom requests for reprints should be addressed, at Mallory Institute of Pathology, 784 Massachusetts Avenue, Boston, Mass. 02118.

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